Hero too me
by XShipperxWriterxgirlX
Summary: set after 1X16 'Legendary'. Mick visits Len in 2013.. But instead of declining Rips offer to continue returning to that moment.. He returns several times. (One-shot)


**Hero too me: set after A1X16 'Legendary'- Legends of tomorrow. Mick visits Len in 2013.. But instead of declining Rips offer to continue returning to that moment.. He continuously does**.

 **Rating: T**

 **Word count: 4,321 words**

 **a/N: this is also on the flash arc under my story opposites attract so if you recognise it that's why :)**

* * *

"I didn't want something that needs to be said left unsaid..." Mick trailed off sighing. It's taking everything not to blurt out that the man in front of him dies. What he really wants to say is don't go on that suicide mission. Or don't blow up the oculus. But it was Mick's fault. If he didn't decide to play hero first and knock Ray out, Len wouldn't have gone in after him. It's not like they can change what they did. Rip has said that many, many times throughout this mission.

"Mick. I don't do touchy feely. If you've got something to say. Say it." Len interrupts. Sure they might be a couple, well one of those on again off again couples, but they never really expressed their true feelings for one another. Not at this point in time anyway. Len didn't get the name captain cold just because of his love for the cold. Even if some idiot from S.T.A.R labs was the one to give it him.

"This was a bad idea." Mick said getting up before sighing. This really had to be said. "I just want you too know that you're the best guy I've ever knew. You might not think you're a hero, but you're a hero to me.." Mick said before pausing briefly to see Len's reaction. "Got it?" He then added and whilst Mick was doing his hardest to not cry, Len couldn't be more confused even if he tried.

"Yeah. Got it." Len confirmed and Mick let out a small smile. If you didn't know him or weren't looking closely you wouldn't see it but it was there.

"See ya around." Mick then said before leaving, not even looking back at him, but knows Len's watching his retreating form. Mick sighed. All he wanted to do was tell him how he really felt about him. The majority of their so called relationship was physical. Len didn't want the emotional side to come and bite him in the arse. To begin with, neither did Mick. Them years ago, it just started as a well, quick fuck whenever one of them needed it. They were a couple of the most wanted criminals in the country.. It's not like they could go out and attempt to pull without at least one person recognising them. Then instead of whenever they needed it, it became more regular. At one point it became an every night thing... Then one day it just stopped. Well they got into a massive fight that day, words were said and Mick stormed off and practically disappeared off the face of the earth... And it basically went like that for years and years. Sighing, Mick turned around to face Len one last time before walking out the door and leaving the building.

"Are you ok?" He heard a voice ask. Looking around, he saw Ray and Rip emerge from behind a parked car.

"I'm fine." Mick answered, trying to take a page from Len's book and show no emotions.

"So... did you tell him?" Ray asked and Mick had to control the urge to hit him. Of course he didn't tell him.. No matter how much he wanted too.

"That he killed himself to save our destinies?" Mick asked, raising his eyebrow at him. He knows he was labelled the 'dumb one' but what does this millionaire take him for, really?

"If it's any consolation.. I can bring you back to this exact time." Rip said, joining the conversation.

"I'm fine." Mick repeated before walking off. He was dying inside. He's lost the one person he truly cares about, without him.. He is just a dumb meathead thug. He doesn't have his back bone. Sure he can plan a heist but not to the same extent Len does. It just wouldn't feel right him doing it without Len either. They had almost three decades of partnership, that can't be replaced by some hired thug.. Or anyone for that matter.

* * *

Two weeks later, Mick could slowly feel himself becoming more insane by the hour. All these heroes around him, And a deadly assassin, he just felt like he needed to do something, anything, to bring back his criminal status. It's what he is. He's a criminal. He steals things, maybe kill the people who get in his damned way. He can't do it though. Without him. Without Len. He's not sure how much time has passed back on earth.

Earth..

That just feels like a distant memory. His life on Earth. Was it really all a dream? He knows without the time council time could just collapse. That's why their little group is here. Maybe he should have just declined, maybe done what Kendra and Carter did. Move on with his life. As much as Mick would have loved to do that, he wouldn't have had any idea where to go. He has no one now. The team still don't completely trust him and Mick still can't stand some members.. Others are growing on him slowly.

Sighing, Mick got out of bed and walked around. Ever since the incident, he's felt lost. Is this how Len felt when he was forced to abandon him? When Mick went against them and became chronos? He knew that Len was acting strange the whole time without Mick, thanks to blondie, but he wasn't dead. Admittedly Len didn't know that part, but he even said he was going to come back too him. Groaning, he came to the realisation he needed to see Len once again.. He needed to go back to 2013.

"RIP?!" Mick shouted as he walked down a corridor, not really caring if he woke the rest of the team up whilst he was doing it.

"Mr Rory. It is very late at night. I might be an time master myself but that still means I need sleep. What is it that you could possibly want at this time?" Rip said, angrily. A tired time master was not a happy one. That's for sure.

"I need to go see Snart." Mick simply said and Rip groaned.

"You woke me up for that?! Seriously Mr Rory, go back to bed and go too sleep. I'll take you there myself later." Rip responded and the next thing he knew he was being pinned up against the wall.

"I don't think you understood, captain. I need to go see Snart. Now. Or else." Mick threatened, pulling Rip from the wall and shoving him back against it.

"The jump ship. Use that rather than the waverider. I have enabled Gideon to follow any commands in regard to you wishing to return to 2013. Coordinates, date and time are already set. You've just got to command Gideon to control the jumpship for this time jump. For the love of God, don't forget where you leave it. Can't have you running around 2013 central city now can we. Besides, there's also a younger you floating around there so that's another reason to not get stuck there." Rip explained.

"Yes. I know. What do you take me for, some dumb fuck with an IQ of meat?" Mick growled before stomping off to the wave rider and onto the jumpship before commanding Gideon to take him to 2013. Once it landed, Mick took note where it was before the clocking device activated and walked into the bar. Sure enough, Len was there. Like he was last time. Mick went and ordered himself a beer and went to sit opposite the man.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Len asked. Damn it. He tried not to show the same look as last time.

"I didn't think you'd show up." Mick replied, faking a smile which he's sure Len could tell.

"You left a message. I came. What of it?" Len asked, raising an eyebrow a him. Mick sighed. He might not remember it, but Mick said what he needed to say last time.

"It's just last time we saw each other, words were said, things happened... I was pretty sure you hated me. That's why I'm a little shocked to you showing up." Mick explained with a shrug. By this point in time that was the truth, it was a good couple of months last time they saw each other.

"Hate's a strong word, Mick." Len pointed out after letting out a sigh of his own. "Besides, I could never hate you." He then added quietly. So quiet Mick almost didn't hear him.

"I know it is." Choosing to ignore Len's additional comment. He knows that this Len isn't very good at letting his real emotions go. Too be honest, Len hasn't ever been that good at conveying emotions, that's why he chose not to do them. He was taught by his father that emotions were a sign of weakness. That's why it took Len as long as it did to even start to open up to Mick, and even now three decades later Mick doesn't know everything.

"Mhm. So why did you think I could ever hate you, Mick? We've been through too much for me to ever hate you. Despite our many, many arguments, despite feeling that I want to kill you almost half the time we spend together.. I'll never hate you. I'd never pull the trigger on you even if my life depended on it. I'll never give up on you because you're my oldest friend. I could never give you up. Hell I'd even sacrifice myself for you if it ever came down to it." Len explained and Mick sighed and looked down. He was trying not to cry, especially at those last words. So Mick did what he does best. He ran away. Well got up and walked away without another word. He needed air. He needed to be able to calm himself down, and he couldn't. Leaning against the building, Mick just let the tears come out. For the first time in years, Mick Rory was actually crying.

Damnit. He promised himself he wouldn't cry. But right now, he just couldn't care less. He couldn't give a fuck if someone saw him. The man he loves, the man who doesn't do feelings, just said he'd sacrifice himself for Mick if it ever came down in there. And Len does. It isn't fair that Mick knows what he does. What he really wants to do is tell Len how he really feels, what happens in three years time. But he can't. He'll change everything if he does. Then who would be the one who sacrifice themselves to save everyone? More than likely it will be Ray. He was the one that was supposed to die.

"Mick?" A voiced asked snapping Mick out his train of thought. Len. "What's wrong? I've never seen you like this before." He then added, stepping closer too him. Mick took a couple of deep breaths to help him calm down.

"If I told you you wouldn't believe me." Mick muttered, looking down on the ground and playing with his fingers.

"You could try me. I've heard some pretty fucked things in my time." Len half joked, not taking his eyes of Mick. Mick just sighed and instead of telling Len the truth.. He grabbed him and pulled him close before kissing him. He knows Len isn't one for PDA, neither is Mick really, but it was something he had too do. It took a couple of seconds for Len to respond, like it always did the few times they kissed. Mick pulled Len as close as possible before trapping him between the wall of the building and his body. Len groaned in surprise and deepened the kiss more, which really took Mick by surprise because nine out of ten times, made the kiss something more. Don't get him wrong he always made sure that Len wanted it as much as he did and he'd never take advantage of Len. It was just that Len was always shy when it came to being intimate.. He didn't like showing the scars that he had off. Bring himself back to reality, Mick pulled away from the kiss, and Len and sighed. How the hell was he supposed to go back now? Well it was either kiss him or tell him the truth. He chose option A and focused on his damn hormones. He felt like an out of control hormonal teenager.

"Mick." Len said and grabbed Mick's face in his hands and turned his head so he faced him. "Are you sure you're okay?" Len then asked and Mick sighed.

"I'm fine." Mick answered, looking back at Len. Into those clear blue eyes that always drive him insane. They're his one weakness.

"Are you sure?" Len insisted, emotion evident on his face. Whether or not Len was sure that's what he was doing, would be a different story.

"I'm fine. Really." Mick repeated and Len sighed.

"Alright.." He trailed off, still looking unsure. "So that kiss?" Len asked, raising his eyebrow slightly.

"What about it?" Mick asked with a slight chuckle.

"Just wondered why you randomly decided to kiss me? Didn't realise you missed me that much." Len answered and Mick sighed again.

"Well I did. So much." Mick replied looking around. It wasn't an exact lie. He missed him when they had their arguments and separations, and he missed him now. So fucking much.

"Then why do you continue to do stupid stuff? Do you think I like having these arguments with you? No it kills me but you don't stick around to kiss and make up. You disappear off the end of the world! You take leaving to the next step!" Len explained, trying to keep calm. Mick just rolled his eyes. So apparently it's always his fault when things go wrong?

"It's not always my fault, Len. You and I both know that." Mick simply said before sighing once again. Sure Len plans everything, he susses what could go wrong and finds ways to prevent those things from happening, but even then he could miss something. Yes he makes minimal mistakes, and yes most of the time it is Mick that fucks up, but Len isn't perfect either. Throughout the partnership, Mick has been the one that's been looked down on more so then Len anyway. Mick is the one that rushes into things without fully considering the situation, burning anyone and anything that got in the way. Len on the other hand was, what you could call, the commander of their operations. He only killed when he had too. He had Mick at his own beacon call. Len always told Mick what to do and when to do it and every time Mick obeyed. He didn't just do what he did because Len told him too, or for the fact that he's a criminal.. It was because he was trying to protect Len. That's one thing that Len ever understood when Mick did what he did. Len saw it as a huge fuck up because it didn't follow the plan... Mick saw it as protection, which it was. Len saw himself as someone that doesn't need protection, that's why he never saw it how Mick did. It wasn't until Len's final days he did.

"Mick.." Len trailed off, sighing. He knows Mick is right, he just doesn't want to admit it, cause if he does, well he won't be able to control what follows out of his mouth next.

"It doesn't matter Len.. I shouldn't have come." Mick responded, giving Len one last look and left him before Len even had a chance to stop him.

* * *

"Mick.. You've been in there for weeks now, come out of there." Ray said, knocking on Mick's door.

"No." Mick replied, almost angrily. Ray sighed on the other side. He didn't understand why he was in there.

"Mr Palmer. If mr Rory doesn't want to come out of there, let him be." Rip said, walking into the corridor. "We can't force him to come out." He then added.

"Good, because I'm not going too." Mick said, hearing the conversation between the two.

"But I don't understand why. I know he hasn't been himself since..." Ray trailed off with a sigh. "But he hasn't been like this the whole time, so why now?" Ray then asked which caused Rip to sign and Ray to give him a look of course confusion. "You know something."

"Rip, if you tell him I'll kill you." Mick growled, opening the door. Ray turned to face Mick looking annoyed that no-one is talking too him.

"What am I missing out on here?" Ray demanded and both of the other males sighed.

"I went to 2013." Mick started before looking down.

"Yes I already knew that. Me, you and Rip did." Ray said confused which caused Mick to chuckle slightly.

"You're not getting it haircut. I went back to 2013... And I kissed him before almost having another argument with him and then I left." Mick explained, still looking down at the ground.

"You kissed him? That's a crime because...?" Ray trailed off, more confused then he was earlier.

"We weren't together at that point in time. I thought he hated me, he reassured me he didn't. It was either I kissed him or told him the truth." Mick explained before continuing, "I had a chance to prevent it from happening but instead like a hormonal teenager, I kissed him. It made me realise how much I miss him. Yes I thought about it so much what if I told him that he sacrificed himself then he would be alive now. I considered it so much but then I thought, who would be the one to do it... And for that reason I didn't tell him."

"You care about us all." Ray said smugly.

"No. I don't, haircut." Mick growled, pinning Ray up against the wall which caused him to let out a Yelp in surprise.

"Mr Rory, let him go at once." Rip demanded, trying to pry the bigger man off Ray. Obviously failing. Mick is a much bigger build than Rip after all.

"The only person I care about is dead. I don't care for you or anyone else on the team who tagged along on this suicide mission. The only reason I stuck around is because I have no-one. Got it, haircut." Mick explained before moving away and stomping down the hall.

"Hey now! Where are you going now?!" Rip shouted after him.

"To get a drink." Mick responded with an eye roll causing the other two males to sigh.

When Mick said he was getting a drink, well he went back to 2013. He care anymore. Doesn't care about the precious timeline which everyone is trying so hard to protect. Doesn't care about the others on the team. Doesn't care about the paradox shit that Rip continues to go on about. Fuck it, if he can prevent the man he loves from dying, then he will. He doesn't care how crazy he will sound to Len. Doesn't care who is the ultimate sacrifice anymore.

"Mick." Len said, raising his eyebrow at his partner, knocking Mick out of his train of thought. "What is going on with you tonight? You seem distant." Len then added. Mick sighed, third beer in and he still has no idea how to phrase this right. Well here goes nothing.

"Len.. What I'm about to say is going to seem completely insane, you might not believe me... But it's the truth." Mick started and Len looked concerned.

"Mick... Is everything okay?" Len asked, generally concerned for his... Partner. There were only a few times where Len showed emotions, well other than hate. The hate look seems forever imprinted on his face.

"Everything isn't okay. I'm fine... But you're not." Mick started which caused Len to look confused and before Len had a chance to interrupt, Mick continued. "Three years from now, in May 2016... You die. You die a hero. That's why you're a hero to me. You saved me by sacrificing yourself. But you didn't just save me... In January 2016, this British man named Rip hunter kidnaps us both and six other people, professor Stein and Jax Jefferson aka firestorm. Kendra Saunders and Carter hull, they turn into Hawks. Ray Palmer who is also known as the Atom, and Sara Lance who will be known as the white canary. He asks us to go on a mission to save the world 150 years from that moment in time anyway. This bloke, vandal savage destroys the earth. Doesn't really concern us considering we will be dead by then, but hey. He needs heatwave and captain cold.. Even if we are a pair of master criminals. Anyway when Rip comes for us, you got to stay behind. Stay with Lisa. Stay in central city. Do what you do best. Be a criminal. Just when he comes, don't join the mission. It's suicide. Okay?" Mick begged and Len just stared at him, unsure what to make of what just said. Then he.. Laughed? Okay Mick can understand why he's laughing. It does sound like he's making all this stuff up after all.

"Mick. Whatever this is, you do have the strangest sense of humour ever." Len said, between laughs and Mick just gave him a serious look. "You're not joking?" Len said, calming down.

"No. I'm not. Just please don't do it. I can't loose you." Mick pleaded and Len sighed.

"Say if I did believe you.. What happened to me? How do you know all this, Mick?" Len asked and Mick sighed.

"I'm from 2016 myself. I'm future Mick I guess you could call me. You.. You blew up this thing called the oculus which controls, well manipulates, the timeline. You saved everyone on the team, especially me. Considering I decided to play hero first. Just don't go, Len. Please." Mick explained and Len just looked deep in thought. With that, Mick sighed and got up. "You might not think you're a hero, but what you did was pretty hero like Len. The mission changed you. It changed me as well. I just can't lose you. You're a hero to me Len. Remember that." Mick added before walking out. Has he just done the right thing? Warned Len of the future. He didn't just think of himself there. He thought of Lisa too. What will she do without her older brother? Yes Mick knows of the consequences of changing the timeline, he can thank the chronos programme for that, but right now. He just couldn't care. He did what he felt right, and if it meant someone else on that team died so Len lived so be it. He wasn't trying to be selfish. "Ugh my head.." Mick mumbled to himself as he stumbled his way to the jump ship. He wasn't drunk, it takes a lot more than three beers to get Mick Rory drunk. Well two and a half considering he never finished the third one. Mick groaned as he found the jump ship and stepped up onto it. "Gideon! Take me back!" Mick demanded and sure enough he felt it power up before he collapsed onto the floor.

When Mick came round he was in a bed in a house. It was dark so he figured it was night time. "What the fuck.." Mick trailed off confused, looking around not recognising anything.

"Micky, it's three in the morning. Go back to sleep." A voice said sleepily and Mick instantly recognised that voice. Len.

"Len, what year is this? What month is this?" Mick demanded, not caring what time it was and Len groaned, sitting up in their bed. What was going on here?

"Mick. It's May 2016. Did you hit your head on that last job again?" Len asked, cupping Mick's face in his hands before using one to feel his forehead.

"Last job?" Mick asked confused and Len sighed.

"Yeah. You know.. We were confronted by these people, they called them self the time pirates, to destroy Rip hunter and his team of time hopping hero's. Jesus Mick how hard did you hit your head?" Len asked concerned and Mick sighed.

"I'm fine.. Just had a nightmare that's all baby. It's all good." Mick reassured and Len sighed in relief.

"Ah good. I was afraid I was going to have to call the doctor again. What was your nightmare about anyway?" Len asked, cuddling up to Mick and Mick wrapped his arms around Len.

"That we were apart of Rip hunters hero's and you sacrificed yourself to save everyone. You died a hero." Mick explained and Len just chuckled.

"Mick. Me, a hero? Sure does sound like a nightmare." Len responded with a smirk.

"You're my hero, never forget that. You saved me in Juvie." Mick pointed out.

"If I recall correctly it was you who saved my life." Len points out and Mick laughed.

"Yeah. But I met a great man that day. I could have been a loner all my life and you saved me. You've been my partner for almost thirty years. Len. I might have saved your life but you saved me in ways you'd never know." Mick explained and Len sighed happily.

"Alright. I suppose I did save you then. Micky." Len said, still wearing that smirk. "Now that I'm awake.." He then trailed off and started kissing Mick's neck and then it was Mick's turn to smirk. Needless to say, the pair never got back to sleep that night.

Mick may have fucked up with the timeline with warning Len. But definitely worth it.


End file.
